Completed December 2025. Perfect Contracting was engaged by Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure as the licensed demolition contractor for the removal of two underground fuel tanks buried under a slab on a live infrastructure project site at Hill Road, Lidcombe. The package ran from investigation through to the tanks leaving site: the demolition management plan to the principal's specification, the safe work method statements, the SafeWork NSW notification, the underground tank removal method and a licensed demolition supervisor on site for every shift of the removal, with the excavation partner working under our plan.
Two tanks nobody had a record of. No reliable depth, no confirmed contents, no drawing of how they were held in the ground, and a project site around them that had to keep working. Both were out and off site in three shifts.
Services delivered
- Demolition management plan written to the principal's demolition specification, submitted for approval and revised once the investigation showed what was in the ground
- Safe work method statements for the slab cutting, tank lid work, liquid removal, excavation, lifting and loadout, and the SafeWork NSW notification for the tank works
- Investigation stage: integrity testing on the concrete fill in both tanks, sampling of the residual liquid, a saw cut slit trench and non destructive digging beside the tanks to find their depth, encasement and connected lines
- demolition of the slabs and the concrete blanket over the tanks, excavation with hand digging around known and suspected services, benching of the excavation edges, and the concrete encasement broken out to expose the tanks
- hazardous materials removal: residual fuel and water pumped out by vacuum truck and carted to a licensed facility before any tank was lifted
- External pipework cut and isolated, lifting points confirmed, both tanks rigged and lifted by mobile crane straight onto a float and taken off site
- A licensed demolition supervisor on site for all three removal shifts, with the excavation partner working under our plan and supervision
The challenge
The tanks were not what anyone expected. Once the slab was cut and the slit trench dug, the investigation showed both tanks were steel, fully encased in concrete, with a continuous concrete blanket poured over the top and live and redundant lines running to them. The tanks themselves had been filled with concrete at some point, and integrity testing was needed to work out how much of the fill was solid and whether voids were still holding liquid.
The residual liquid sampled as fuel. That set the rules for everything after it: what kind of saw could cut the slabs around the tanks, how the lids were opened, how the liquid was pumped and where it went, and what had to be confirmed before a crane took the weight. The methodology was written only as far as the site findings allowed, and each stage was reassessed before the next one started.
All of it sat in the middle of a live infrastructure site with other contractors working around the excavation. Edge protection, concrete barriers and an exclusion zone kept the pit closed off, and the site was left secure at the end of every shift.
Perfect Contracting's role
Perfect Contracting held the demolition licence and owned the plan. The principal needed one licensed contractor to take responsibility for the demolition management plan, the safe work method statements, the SafeWork NSW notification and the supervision, so the excavation, lifting and cartage resources could work under a single approved method. That is what we provided, and the works were invoiced through Perfect Contracting as one package.
The demolition management plan went in to the principal's specification, was reviewed and then revised once the investigation showed what was actually in the ground. Our licensed demolition supervisor was on site for the three removal shifts and the excavation partner worked to our plan. It is the same role Perfect Contracting plays on early works packages where a client needs the licence, the paperwork and the supervision as much as the machines.
How the tanks came out
The work ran in two stages. In November 2025 the tanks were investigated: integrity testing on the concrete fill inside them, sampling of the residual liquid, a saw cut slit trench opened beside them by a small excavator with a hammer and taken down by non destructive digging, then backfilled with roadbase so the area stayed safe while the method was rewritten around the findings.
In December the slabs and the concrete blanket came off, the soil was excavated with hand digging around the services, the excavation edges were benched, and the concrete encasement was broken out to expose the tanks and their lifting points. Residual fuel and water were pumped out by vacuum truck and carted to a licensed facility. The external pipework was then cut and isolated, each tank was rigged and lifted by mobile crane straight onto a float, and both tanks left site for the licensed facility. Nothing was stockpiled on site.
Environmental controls
- Residual liquid sampled and identified before any cutting, pumping or lifting method was fixed
- Residual fuel and water pumped out by vacuum truck and carted to a licensed facility, not left in the tanks for the lift
- Non destructive digging beside the tanks during the investigation so nothing connected to them was struck
- Tanks taken straight from the pit to the float and off site, no stockpiling of contaminated steel on the project
- Concrete encasement and slab broken out and stockpiled separately for loadout
Safety on a live site
Fuel tanks under concrete on a live site are a controlled demolition job before they are an excavation job. The demolition management plan and the safe work method statements set the sequence, the SafeWork NSW notification was lodged before the removal started, and the method was only written as far as the findings allowed, with each stage reassessed before the next.
Edge protection, concrete barriers and an exclusion zone held the open pit away from the other contractors on site. Lifting points were confirmed on the exposed tanks before the crane took the weight, and our licensed supervisor was on site for every removal shift. The site was left secure at the end of each day.
Tank removal for infrastructure contractors
Sydney's infrastructure corridors are full of old fuel tanks, buried plant and structures with no records. Perfect Contracting delivers underground tank removal, demolition, hazardous materials removal and early works for infrastructure contractors across Sydney from its Marrickville yard, including the licensed contractor and supervision role where the principal already has the excavation resources and needs the licence, the plan and the paperwork to sit with one accountable contractor.
The outcome
Both tanks out of the ground and off site in three shifts, 8 to 10 December 2025, with the rest of the site working the whole time. The excavation partner wrote afterwards to thank our supervisor for his support and professionalism on site, and the works were invoiced as complete the following day.
See more Perfect Contracting projects or contact our estimating team.
Perfect Contracting acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as Traditional Custodians of the country on which we live and work. We pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians and Elders past, present and future, and honour their connection to the land and ongoing contribution to society.